


Mass Effect - Shepard and the Rainbows

by Meluch



Series: Mass Effect - The First Meetings Universe [1]
Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Genre: Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Dyson Sphere, F/F, F/M, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-08
Updated: 2018-09-07
Packaged: 2019-07-08 09:31:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15927653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meluch/pseuds/Meluch
Summary: Riley Jane Shepard was the oldest daughter of the family, and she lived happily with her parents and younger sister on the small colony planet Mindoir, on the edge of human occupied space. She had everything she could ever have dreamed of, but all of that changed when slavers attacked.Rainbow Prism, father of Rainbow Dash, had dreamed of being a Wonderbolt since he was a foal, and he was proud to announce to the world that he had achieved that dream at such a young age. Happily married to the beautiful Firefly and with a devoted fan and admirer in his young daughter Rainbow Dash, Prism could not have dreamed of his life ever going better.Neither realized how quickly their lives could change. Neither realized the blessings that could come from such a tragedy.Neither realized that the coming years would shape the savior of the galaxy.A Mass Effect/MLP:FiM Crossover, the First Story in the First Meetings Universe





	1. Prologue - Nightmare's Nightmare

For want of a nail, the shoe was lost;  
For want of a shoe, the horse was lost;  
For want of a horse, the rider was lost;   
For want of a rider, the message was lost;  
For want of the message, the battle was lost;  
_For want of a battle, the kingdom was lost,  
_ And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

Prologue - Nightmare’s Nightmare  
_The Castle of the Two Sisters  
_ _One Thousand Years Before the Great Stasis_

The moment had been a long time in its coming, inevitable in its arrival, and obvious in hindsight, and yet, Princess Celestia still found herself confused. Where were these feelings coming from? Why hadn’t she approached her earlier about this? They could have worked through this together, like they were supposed to.

Like sisters were supposed to.

“Not another step!” Princess Luna hissed icily, glaring down at her older sister from the dais in the throne room. She took a step forward, her horn glinting dangerously in the light of the sun from the window behind her. “Did you really expect me to sit idly by while the prophecy hangs over us all? I can’t allow my daughter to die. I won’t!”

“Luna, please!” Celestia begged. “You shouldn’t do this. Prophecies aren’t set in stone.”

“No, they aren’t.” Luna shook her head, ice filling her veins. She knew what she needed to do, and she let her heart harden, even as her sister stared at her with pleading eyes. “But you aren’t willing to do anything about it. Not really. I can see now that I’m the only one that cares for her. I won’t let you lead her to her downfall. After tonight, there will only be two Princesses in Equestria!”

Celestia looked over her sister, sadness filling her heart even as she prepared herself for battle. The younger Alicorn’s flowing mane somehow looked disheveled, and her dark blue coat looked like it hadn’t been washed in several days. Her eyes were bloodshot, and it looked like she hadn’t slept for at least a week.

“That Princess...” Luna stepped forward onto the small bridge that crossed the two thrones. Rearing up, she slammed her fore legs down, smashing the bridge to pieces as her eyes flared a blinding white. “Will be me! Nightmare Moon!”

The wall behind Luna cracked and the window overlooking the room shattered, revealing the sun outside. Magic swirling around her, Luna rose up, her horn glowing as she cast the moon over the sun, creating an eclipse. A writhing unnatural darkness spread out, eldritch beams of black spitting out across the land.

The largest of the beams reached out, striking Luna in the heart. Ribbons of darkness spiraled out from her, cocooning themselves around the Alicorn in a ball of shadows, spinning faster and faster as it lifted Luna off the dais and into the air.

The ball hung in the air for a moment before exploding brilliantly, revealing a transformed Luna, or Nightmare Moon now, Celestia supposed.

Nightmare Moon grinned, revealing deadly sharp teeth that looked like they could tear through iron. Her horn glowing a brilliant blue, she cast a beam of energy out, slicing the ceiling of the throne room apart, sending slabs of stone and glass crashing to the floor below.

“Luna, I will not fight you!” Narrowing her eyes in determination, Celestia stepped forward. “You must lower the moon! It is your duty!”

“Luna?” Nightmare Moon growled, stomping a hoof to the ground. Her eyes flared dangerously. “I am Nightmare Moon! I have but one royal duty now: to destroy you!”

With a shout of rage, Nightmare Moon blasted away at Celestia with her magic. The elder alicorn slipped out of the way of the beam with a mighty flap of her wings. She needed space to work, and the hole through the top of the room was more than adequate. With another flap, she accelerated out of the castle and into the night sky above.

“And where do you think you are going?” Nightmare Moon shouted angrily. Leaping into the air, she flew after her sister with deadly intent. There would be no running from this battle.

Her muscles straining, Celestia flapped her wings and weaved between the towers and ramparts of the castle while dodging the deadly magical blasts from Nightmare Moon, who pursued her. Dropping towards the ground, Celestia flared her wings at the last possible moment to just skim across the surface. Nightmare Moon stayed hot on her tail.

Rising back up into the air, Nightmare Moon fired another beam, this time with deadly accuracy. Speeding out from her horn, the bolt struck true, hitting Celestia in the chest. She screamed in pain, and her wings locked up. She plummeted to the ground. It was to her luck that Celestia fell through the hole in the roof of the throne room.

Every part of her body ached as she lay still against the cool stone of the floor. She kept her eyes closed, taking the moment to gather her strength. The fight had been short, but it had still taken a lot of out of her. It wasn’t over and she still had a long way to go before she could fully rest.

Sighing deeply, Celestia stood slowly on her four legs, her eyes still closed. Her head hung low. “Oh, dear sister. _I am so sorry..._ ”

Stepping backwards, Celestia fired a beam of magic at the floor of the throne room.

Laboriously, and with a groan of protesting metal, the floor slid apart. Hidden gears clacked against each other, spinning, rising. Out of the hole in the floor, a large device rose up, five spires orbiting around it on thin metal arms. On the top of the device sat a smooth stone globe, perfectly spherical in its construction.

“You have given me no choice but to use these,” Celestia whispered mournfully as she stretched her wings.

With a mighty flap of her wings, Celestia flew up above the device, using her magic to take hold of the stone globe in the center. She grimaced as her magic strained, but slowly and surely, out of the stone rose the Element of Magic. From the thin metal spires, the other five elements rose: Kindness, Generosity, Honesty, Loyalty, and Laughter. Together, they met the Element of Magic and rose to orbit around Celestia, held aloft by her magic.

Beating her wings, Celestia rose back up through the hole in the ceiling of the throne room.

Nightmare Moon was waiting for her outside, her teeth gritted together in anger.

Hovering in the air, Celestia glared at Nightmare Moon as the dark mare lowered herself from the sky to Celestia’s level. Even as the Elements orbited around her, the white mare felt lower than she ever had before, her heart heavy in her chest.

“Don’t make me do this, Luna.” Celestia pleaded, her voice cracking in desperation.

“My name is Nightmare Moon!” A crack of lightning punctuated her statement.

“I was wrong, Luna.” Celestia sighed, lowering her head. “But this fighting does nothing. Not for you. Not for her, and certainly not for the prophecy!”

“No!” Nightmare Moon shook her head and gestured an angry hoof at her sister. “This is the only way!”

Gathering her magic, Nightmare Moon fired a beam of magic at the solar princess. Celestia dodged and Nightmare Moon rushed to follow.

“This is the way that everything needs to happen! You know it to be true!” Nightmare shouted after Celestia, growling.

Their desperate flight took them around the entirety of the castle. Magic arced out across the sky, ripping stone and mortar to pieces whenever it failed to connect with its intended target.

“Stop this, Luna!” Celestia called out over her shoulder.

“Never!” Nightmare Moon shouted. Gathering her magic, she fired an enormous blast at Celestia.

How Celestia knew to dodge would be a question that kept her up at night for centuries to come. There was no forewarning, no signs, nothing to alert her, yet she still slipped down and to the left, some instinct deep inside her telling her to move.

The magic that would have struck her dead instead continued onwards, blasting apart the tallest tower of the castle. More than half of the stones turned to dust from the sheer power of the blast, and those left behind crumbled, plummeting to the ground far below. Nothing of the tower was left.

Nightmare Moon’s eyes widened in complete terror and fear. Celestia stopped her running, turning to face her sister in understanding. It was over. The fight was over, and all she could feel was sadness, her heart breaking.

“Oh, Luna.” Celestia spoke softly. She lowered the Elements, letting them fall to the ground. “What have you done?”

“No!” The form of Nightmare Moon faded away, leaving Princess Luna behind. Tears filled her eyes and with a powerful flap of her wings, she rushed towards the remains of the tower. “No! No! No! No!”

With her magic, Luna tossed the rubble aside, frantically searching for any sign of life. She froze when she found what she was looking for.

Celestia touched down softly beside Luna, peering down into the rubble at what had caught her attention. A shattered dark blue crib lay flattened from the stones. The remnants of a baby foal’s room were strewn about, barely recognizable in the wreckage. The remnants of Princess Luna’s daughter’s room.

Helping her search, the two continued silently, tossing rubble aside and out of the way. Both were holding back tears, though Luna sobbed quietly under her breath.

Taking ahold of one of the largest pieces of the tower, Luna tossed it aside like it weighed nothing. She dropped to the ground in horror at what she found.

A small blue blanket, torn and soaked in blood.

Luna let her tears flow free, screaming her despair to the sky above.

“I am sorry, Luna,” Celestia said quietly. Gently laying down beside her sister, she put a wing over Luna’s back, joining her in her grief. “I am so sorry.”

“I killed her!” Luna wailed, her voice cracking. She looked up at Celestia with eyes filled with pain. “I killed her...”

Celestia could think of nothing to say, instead giving her sister her silent support.

Things would never be the same.


	2. Chapter One - Wonderbolts to the Rescue

Chapter One - Wonderbolts to the Rescue   
_ June 3rd, 2170 C.E.  
_ _ Mindoir, Attican Traverse _

The alarms blared through the ship, but Rainbow Prism had long since drowned them out. He had bigger issues to focus on. Top of all of them being the fact that he was about to experience combat for the first time in his life. It was honestly something that he had prayed he would never see. 

Sure, the Wonderbolts had become a more functioning part of Equestria's military ever since the sphere had been cracked open almost twenty years ago, but they were still primarily stunt fliers. It just so happened that it was now policy to never leave the planet without their gear when touring, armor and weapons included.

It was supposed to just be a simple trip. After so long dreaming, Prism had finally achieved his greatest dream in life. He was a Wonderbolt! There were only two moments that he held in higher regard. The first was his wedding day. Seeing Firefly walking down the aisle in her dress... it still made his legs go wobbly. The second was the birth of his only daughter. All things considered, Prism was living the dream. 

At least he had thought he was, until mid-way through the flight to the Asari homeworld Thessia when the distress call had come through.

" _ This is the colony planet, Mindoir. We are under attack by raiders. Please, if anyone can hear this, we need help! Oh god, I hope someone is listening. _ "

The message repeated, stuck on a loop. It was a complete miracle that they had even managed to pick it up. The ship the Wonderbolts used to tour the planets was not state of the art. It had once served as a colony transport ship hauling around mid-sized freights to planets on the Traverse. It was cheap and in relatively good working order, which is why the Wonderbolts had purchased it. It was the perfect size to transport them to the few tours that they had begun to schedule across the galaxy. 

Prism shuffled his hooves, checking one last time that his battle harness was firmly attached around his barrel. It was. The straps were tight, but not overly so, and the guns were in just the right place to not restrict his wings during flight. His coat itched under the light armor, but there was nothing he could do about it but grin and bear it. 

Glancing around the room, Prism looked over the Wonderbolts surrounding him. He was by far the newest of the team, having only recently graduated from the academy, but he was beginning to get to know who they all were and where he stood with them. They were a generally fun-loving bunch who trained hard and partied harder. The pranks and games were a part of life, and smiles were the name of the game.

Prism couldn't see any smiles on his teammates' faces. A heavy, solemn air had fallen on the converted cargo hold as the Wonderbolts trickled in from their rooms, dressed in their combat armor. They all stood in small groups, speaking in quiet whispers, anxious for the beginning of one of the first military actions they would ever undertake. 

" _ Oh god! Please, someone, anyone! Help us! They're just shooting-- Oh god, oh god! Please! This is the colony planet Mindoir. We're under attack- _ " the transmission cut off to static.

"You all heard the same thing that I did!" Commander Easyglider said as he stepped into the converted cargo hold. By sheer presence alone, everyone went silent as they waited for him to speak. He stood in front of the Wonderbolts, dressed in the same armor as the rest of them. He paced back and forth in front of them, and they all hung to his words with rapt attention. "By all chances, we are the only ship close enough to respond. I know you were all expecting an easy airshow on Thessia, but we're Wonderbolts, and by Celestia we can't just sit back and let a colony get destroyed! We are Wonderbolts, and we are the best that Equestria has to offer! Will we let Celestia down?"

"No!" Prism found himself shouting along with the rest of the Wonderbolts. Their combined cry was loud and fierce.

"Will we let the humans down?" Easyglider asked, snorting proudly.

"No!" The cry came louder than before.

Easyglider grinned, dropping his helmet into place. "Now that's what I like to hear!"   

"Entering Mindoir's atmosphere in thirty seconds," the ship's intercom said, with the tinny sound of bad speakers. "Prepare for drop."

"You heard the stallion!" Easyglider flared his wings, grinning wildly. "Remember to stick with your wingpony and you'll do fine. Make me proud!"

"Wonderbolts, hoaah!" The shout vibrated through Prism, seeming to resonate deeply in his soul. It felt good, and he could feel a confidence welling up in him that hadn't been there moments before.

Stepping up to his wingpony, Prism gave a warm smile to Star Glow. A female pegasus, her butter yellow coat and blue mane were barely visible under the armor she was wearing. She was older than him and had been quick to take him under her wing from the moment that he had graduated through the academy. When they were back on Equestria, she had an open invitation to dinner in the Rainbow household and she and Firefly got along wonderfully. That fact sometimes came around to haunt him, but it was all good in the end.

"Ready, ma'am," Prism said. Familiarity was for when they were off duty. 

"That's good, Prism." Star Glow nodded approvingly at Prism. "Just remember, stick with me. We'll get through this if we can stick together."

"Got it." Nodding, Prism took a deep breath. Despite her confidence, Star Glow had never actually seen any action. Mutually reassuring each other was the best thing that they could possibly do. Together, they could get through anything. 

"It looks like we've got four ships in atmo." The ship's intercom blared again. Together, the Wonderbolts all moved to their assigned spots in the drop hold, each of which were marked on the floor with four yellow hoof prints telling them where to stand. "Batarian, by the look of them. No fighters, but a few transport ships buzzing about."

"Roger that, Captain." Easyglider spoke into his helmet microphone, already connected to the ships communication. Turning to face the rest of the Wonderbolts from his own assigned spot he stretched out his wings. "Synch to the battle-net."

Reaching over, Prism tapped a button on one of the gauntlets on his foreleg. Inside his helmet, his armor and communications synched with the rest of the Wonderbolts, connecting with a quiet chime.

"Drop in five..." The ship started to shake, a violent motion that felt completely different from actually flying through the air on their own wings. "four... three... two... one."

"Drop."

The Wonderbolt's ship sliced neatly through the atmosphere nearly directly over Mindoir's only colony, New Denver. It was a small settlement, with a population only numbering fifty-thousand, the majority of them retired spacers and men and women from the merchant marines.

The bottom of the ship's hold dropped open and the Wonderbolts plummeted out towards the ground below, their wings folded tightly to their sides, hooves held back to make them as aerodynamic as possible.

The floor dropped out from under the Wonderbolts and Prism felt the familiar feeling of his stomach dropping as he plummeted to the ground far below.

Prism stuck directly behind and to the left of Star Glow, just like they had taught him in training. Never leave your partner behind. In his helmet, the buildings of New Denver and all of the other Wonderbolts were highlighted by the battlenet, making it easier for him to pick out everyone and everything of importance.

As he looked, he couldn't help but stare in horror at the burning buildings and the faint screams that he could hear even over the sound of the air rushing past his ears.

"Highlighting mission priorities," Easyglider chimed in over the battle-net. "On my mark, go into flight pattern delta."

Prism tensed along with the other Wonderbolts, ready to do as their leader commanded. 

The ground kept growing closer and closer, and soon enough, Prism could make out the faces of the bodies lying still on the ground. He shuddered, firming himself for what he had to do.

"Mark." Easyglider's simple command came through, his voice confident. 

The Wonderbolts broke apart, each team moving to strike a position that the Battle Net had highlighted for them.

Prism and Star Glow rocketed towards what appeared to be a residential area, just past a large park full of large fountains. A raider transport shuttle hovered nearly directly over the area, highlighted by the battle-net.

"Okay, Prism." Star Glow said, her voice coming in nice and clear through Prism's helmet. "Follow me in, close and tight. Let's take that ship out."

"Roger that, Ma'am." Prism nodded, even though she couldn't see it from her position ahead of him. "On your lead."

Star Glow dropped down, her battle harness activating at the subtle hoof movements she made. The guns instantly locked on the target and without any hesitation opened fire. The bullets ripped through the relatively unarmored ship with ease.

Prism dropped down after her. He activated his guns and they opened fire on the ship, armor piercing bullets streaking out and tearing through the ship's walls. By chance, he hit something important and the ship's engines died. As it started plummeting to the ground below, it exploded, sending the raiders below scurrying away.

"Good shooting, Prism." Star congratulated with a crow of delight. 

"Thank you, ma'am." Prism grinned, adrenaline pumping through his heart. 

"Follow me back around," Star ordered, already banking for another pass. "Let's take these guys out."

"Roger that, ma'am." Prism nodded, following her. "I'm on your six!'

The two peeled back around, heading back towards the Batarians that were firing indiscriminately up into the air at them. Lining up with them, Star and Prism opened fire. Bullets streaked out, tearing the alien raiders apart. They dropped like flies, the battle harnesses' accuracy being guided by their battle-net.

The raiders dropped like flies, but not before one of them made a lucky hit.

Crying out in pain, Prism felt a streak of fire rocket through his left wing and he plummeted like a stone as he screamed in pain. 

"PRISM!" Star shouted in panic, but he barely heard her through his agony. 

He hit the ground hard, sliding across it until he came to a stop against a park bench. He laid still, shocked and in pain.

"Prism!" Above him Star Glow banked back around, finishing off the raiders before she started circling above him. "Come on, talk to me!"

With a groan, Prism sat up, fighting through the pain. Looking back at his wing, he found it still attached, but broken, the feathers stripped clean off and bending in ways that did not look natural. He looked away, shutting his eyes to try and push away the nausea that overtook him. Taking a deep breath, he looked up at Star Glow.

"I'm okay." He reassured her, doing his best to keep the pain out of his voice. "My wing is broken, though, shot clean through. I'll be alright, but I'm on the ground from here on out."

"Thank Celestia!" Star Glow gave a sigh of relief, and though he couldn't see her face, Prism was sure that she had that dorky smile of hers.

A scream of terror tore through the air. Prism instantly jumped to his hooves, his battle harness activating as he tensed, pointing it in the direction of the scream.

"I'll provide you cover." Star Glow growled over the radio. "Let's go check that out."

"Roger that, ma'am." Prism nodded. He started forward, towards the houses that were quickly turning into burning husks.

Making his way between the buildings, Prism kept his head on a constant swivel. The screaming grew louder with every step that he took, but when it was followed by a series of gunshots, and then silence, he took off running.

"It was coming from in here, ma'am." Rushing forward, Prism ran towards where he last heard the screaming, a large house with a gaping hole blown into its side, a simple prefab building.

"Be careful, Prism." Star sounded angry in his ear. "I can't keep watch over you if you move inside."

"I'll be alright, ma'am." He tried to sound reassuring, but he felt anything but confident. He walked through the hole in the side of the building.

As he stepped into the house, Prism grimaced when he found bloody footprints lining the floor. He swallowed back bile at the sight but continued onwards, his guns active and ready to fire at a moment’s notice.

Passing through the living room, he found nothing.

"Nothing so far, ma'am," he spoke through the radio. "I'm moving to check the bedrooms."

"Roger that." Star sounded annoyed. He could only guess that she wanted to be on the ground with him, but Wonderbolt tactical procedures were clear. If any team member was grounded and still operational, the other member was to provide air-support.

Prism moved past the living room to a long hallway lined with doors. He checked them one by one, finding two girls rooms, one with a significantly younger tone to it and walls painted bright pink, and a fairly simple master bedroom.

He found no one, but a long streak of blood led out from the youngest looking girl's room, and he shifted uneasily at the sight.

"There's a whole lot of blood here, ma'am. It's spooking me out." He ignored the instincts telling him to run as far and as fast from the house as possible, moving ahead through sheer force of will.

"Stay calm, Prism," Star said, her voice quiet and sympathetic. "Fight through it."

He walked past the hallway into a large kitchen and dining area, noting that another room sat just off to the side.

Prism froze and gulped back vomit when he laid his eyes on a pair of bodies. A tall man was curled protectively around a much smaller form, and for a moment he was hopeful that he had found survivors. The large pool of blood they were laying in put that thought to rest.

"I have two bodies," Prism whispered in horror. "No sign of the other residents."

From the other room there was a great shout and sounds of a struggle. With a burst of speed, Prism darted inside to find a woman struggling against a Batarian, trying her hardest to keep him from raising his rifle to her chest.

"Back away from her!" Prism shouted, sounding tougher than he felt. 

The batarian ignored him, instead punching the woman in the face. She dropped back with a scream of pain, letting go of his rifle as she fell to the floor. Prism opened fire, but he wasn't quick enough. The Batarian managed to fire three shots before dropping dead to the ground, a bleeding line of bullet holes marching up his body.

Prism rushed to the woman, who lay still on the floor, fighting for each breath. She smiled up at Prism before looking down at her chest and the blood that was quickly pooling and staining her shirt.

"Shit," she swore, breaking into a coughing fit, wiping blood from her mouth.

"Ma'am," Prism said quietly. "Just hang on, I'm sending for help. They can patch you up right."

"I don't have that long--" The woman laughed, but it turned into a deep hacking sound and blood spurted out her mouth. "My daughter..."

"I didn't see any sign of her, ma'am." Prism assumed that she was speaking of the other daughter, and not the child that he had found in the other room. There were two children's rooms after all.

"No," she said firmly. The woman shook her head, pointing towards a small closet. "My daughter, Riley. Please, protect her. She's all that's left."

The woman slumped to the floor, breathing heavily, her eyes going wide. 

"I will ma'am." Prism held her gently, not wanting her to be alone in her final moments. "She's safe."

"Good..."

She exhaled one final time, and then fell still. Prism was frozen for a long moment, staring down at her. Someone had died in his hooves. He had killed, and because he wasn't fast enough, someone else had died because of him.

Shaking himself from his thoughts, Prism stood, looking at the closet.

Stepping forward, he opened it, finding a teenage girl huddled on the floor, her hands tight around her ears, eyes clenched shut, her dark red hair tangled and wet with blood clinging to her face.

"Riley," Prism whispered, looking down at the girl worriedly.

She didn't hear him, rocking back and forth as she tried to stifle her sobs. Slowly, Prism reached out a hoof and touched her arm.

Screaming, Riley's eyes shot open. Adrenaline and fear pumping through her. She tried to run, but Prism was blocking the door. She froze at the sight of him and her mind struggled to comprehend what she was seeing before her. A pony. Ponies were allies, that's what her father had always told her.

Looking past Prism, Riley saw her mother lying on the floor, dead.

"MOM!" Riley cried.

She lunged forward to her mother's side, pushing Prism out of the way as her tears finally started falling. Prism watched her with compassionate eyes.

"Star, I have one survivor," Prism spoke into his helmet.

"Roger that, Prism," Star responded with a sad voice.

"Heads up, ponies." Easyglider's voice broke out over the battle-net. "We're about to get company. Friendly. Fall back and clear the airspace."

"I'll meet up with you, Star," Prism said, watching Riley carefully. "Go ahead. I've got this covered down here."

Star was silent for a long moment before she responded, her voice hard. "You better not die on me, Prism. I don't want to have to explain that to Firefly."

"You won't have to." Prism shuddered at the thought.

Prism stepped forward and put a hoof on Riley's shoulder. She leaned back into it, desperate for any form of comfort. Catching the hint, Prism reared up on his hind legs and wrapped her in a hug. She started to sob into his shoulder.

Before Prism could say anything, five earth shattering booms shook the house. Prism felt like his bones were going to shake apart from the noise, but he didn't let go of Riley, holding tighter as her tears fell harder.

"This is the SSV OLYMPUS." A new voice spoke out over the battle-net. From what his helmet was telling him, Prism realized that it was being broadcast on all available channels. Whoever was doing it was not messing around. "This is the Systems Alliance. Stop all resistance and surrender peacefully."

Prism shut his eyes in relief. The Alliance had arrived, and they would take it from there. 

Four sharp booms echoed out moments later, nowhere near as impressive as the five just moments before. Ships were jumping in and out of FTL in atmosphere, it was the only explanation. They were jumping away.

Riley tired herself out, and soon enough she had no more tears to cry. She slumped against him, falling into unconsciousness, Prism still holding her.

###

Star Glow flew up to rejoin the other Wonderbolts. She watched with wide eyes at the massive human dreadnought and four cruisers holding position above the colony. The SSV Olympus was a sight to see, as dozens of transport ships emerged from it. They began descending to the surface where they started to unload hundreds of Systems Alliance marines.

"Nice of you to show up." Easyglider broadcasted on all channels, directing it at the Olympus above them. "Thought we were going to have to take care of this mess all by ourselves."

"Who is this?" A harsh voice asked. "This is a restricted channel."

"Commander Easyglider, with the Wonderbolts," Easyglider responded easily. 

"Commander!" The voice sounded surprised but recognized the name. "I didn't know you were performing on Mindoir."

"We weren't, but we heard the distress call." Easyglider banked around, leading the Wonderbolts back towards their ship which was waiting in orbit half a mile away. "We couldn't help but answer."

"Thanks for the assist, Commander," the voice said warmly. 

"Good job, Wonderbolts!" Easyglider congratulated over the battle-net. "You made me proud today."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited by Lava48flow.


	3. Chapter Two - Beginnings

Chapter Two - Beginnings   
_ Pluto, Sol System _

Pluto, the planet that never was. The largest known object in the Kuiper belt, and the second smallest object in the Sol System after Eris, the dwarf planet. Such a humble thing. Discord gave a little smile at the name and a small nod of greeting to the humble planetoid, named after a sister he never had. 

But that wasn't why he was here. 

Discord waited with a patience that was at odds with his name, seemingly frozen as he stared up into space beyond the thin atmosphere of Pluto. He would wait however long it took. There was no rush. He had all the time in the galaxy. He was immortal after all. The very universe itself could die and he would remain, chaos incarnate. Not even Celestia could claim such, and he knew that fact intimately. 

There was no herald to its arrival, no trumpets, no flash of light, it just simply appeared, a shadow against the starry sky. 

It moved with elegant purpose and no visible means of propulsion, dancing through space effortlessly as it carried its precious cargo to its final destination. The great work was only just beginning, and there was still so much to accomplish before everything would be ready. 

Discord watched the massive creature as it ever so gently placed a Mass Relay into orbit around Pluto above him. It paid him no mind, accomplishing its task with a driven intensity that made Discord shudder at the very order of things.

Pulling away from the Relay, the creature turned, beginning its journey back out of the solar system, edging out of Pluto's gravity before it jumped away. It left no trace of its arrival save the Mass Relay it had placed into orbit, a monument that would withstand the sands of time, forever working, a guiding light to all who found it.

With a long slowness, the great inner rings of the Relay began to spin, circling around a glowing ball of Element Zero. The miracle element that would forever allow the races of the galaxy to expand beyond their humble beginnings. 

As Discord stood still, watching, time began to speed up. The inner rings of the Relay became a blur, moving far too fast for him to see. Years pass, then decades, centuries. Pluto orbited the sun, faster and faster. Endless cycles. Millennia passed, and for the first time, Discord observed silently as the Relay activated.

With a flare of element zero and blue lightning, a small ship rocketed out from the Relay. Discord watched as it sped away, exploring the system. Finding nothing after days of scanning, it returned to the Relay and passed back through. 

Time continued on, and Discord did not move from his silent vigil. Far above him, the Relay went dark as its element zero supply depleted. Its rings stopped spinning, and slowly, ice began to build on its impenetrable surface. Before his eyes, the Relay became an icy moon orbiting Pluto. 

Centuries passed, and Discord watched as the false moon spun around Pluto in an endless orbit. Millennia passed in the blink of an eye, and Discord remained unchanged. 

Discord couldn't help but give a small smile as the Relay activated for what he knew was the final time. This was the moment that everything truly began in this solar system. Time slowed, because Discord didn't want to miss a single moment. 

The rings of the Relay smashed the ice covering it into chunks as it reactivated. Seconds passed, though it could have been a million years to Discord. A broken Prothean ship hurtled through the Relay, struggling to slow down as it leaked element zero from its cracked hull. Unlike the other aliens, the Protheans stayed at the Relay, working for over a month to deactivate it.

With a slow finality, the Relay went dark for the final time. The Prothean ship began a long voyage to the fourth planet from the sun, Mars, the red planet.

Growling in his throat, Discord snapped his claws. He disappeared without making a sound.

###

Discord appeared on the surface of Mars, ignoring the harsh wind and red dust that howled past him, a bubble of peace and calm appearing around him. Looking up at the sky, he smiled when he saw a pale blue dot just barely visible above the horizon, even through the thin atmosphere. Reaching up, he stroked his goatee.

"Intriguing," he muttered, looking down at the ground beneath his feet. He knew that he was standing directly above the Prothean archives, buried for nearly fifty-thousand years.

It would have to stay buried for awhile longer.

Looking back up, he watched the massive sand storm that was beginning to build on the horizon.

He snapped his fingers and disappeared. 

###

Discord appeared on the moon, light enough that he left no sign of his presence in the dust. Just at the edge of the grey horizon, a brilliant blue planet was beginning to rise, beautiful and majestic, an awe-inspiring sight. 

Earth.

At least the planet that would come to be known as Earth. 

"Such a boring planet." Discord shook his head. 

He cocked his head as he stared over it, watching the strands of time passing by in front of him.

"What makes you so important?" He pondered, scratching his chin. 

Discord studied the planet, peering through the veil of time to the strands of knowledge that hid beneath. His eyes widened at the revelation that appeared instantly to him.

"Oh!" He smiled in understanding. "That's why. Yes... Yes, I can work with that."

He snapped his fingers and disappeared.

###

Discord appeared miles above the surface of Mindoir, looking up at the sky just in time to see the raider's ships begin to descend through the atmosphere, flames licking at their kinetic barriers as they opened fire on the city below. Discord shook his head at the violence, but he made no move to stop them.

"So primitive," he muttered sadly.

Turning from the violence, Discord snapped his fingers.

###

A dense Fog rolled across the forest floor, and tall trees rose up to meet the sky, skeletal and bare of their leaves. Riley found herself standing in the middle of the forest, dressed in her bloody and torn clothes from Mindoir.

"The Harvest. Countless cycles and countless lives." 

A heavy voice, thick and powerful echoed through the forest, seeming to come from both nowhere and everywhere at once. Rily clutched at her ears, trying to block the voice out, tears welling in her eyes.

"Die you stupid bitch!" Another voice rang out, intimately familiar. The voice of the Batarian that killed her family.

"Hide, Riley!" Her mother's voice echoed harshly through the trees. Riley dropped to the ground, terror gripping at her heart. "Whatever happens, whatever you see, don't make a sound. I love you, sweetheart."

Stumbling up, Riley ran through the forest, tears streaming down her face. Dark shadows followed her, never moving but always just behind her. Specters of fear and death, faceless, but their eyes were always on her.

"No!" Riley shouted, clutching her hands over her ears. "No! No! NO!"

"You will do." The first voice rang out again, deeper, sounding pleased in its own, dark way. "There is strength inside you, and they will learn to fear it."

"Enough," A new voice said, coming from behind her. It didn't echo like all the others, nor did it sound as menacing. 

Riley stopped, turning as the forest fell away, leaving nothing but a white expanse behind. She found herself face to face with a tall creature, vaguely serpentine, but like someone had just mashed whatever pieces of animals they had on hand together to make a new being.

Her heart started to pound in her chest. The moment that she laid eyes on him, her eyes widened and she screamed. Rushing forward, the creature put a paw over her mouth, perfectly silencing her.

"Ah, ah. None of that," the Creature spoke again. Sighing dramatically, he placed a claw to his forehead. "While I do so love to listen to screams of terror, we simply do not have the time."

The Creature paused, actually thinking through what he said.

"Well." He shrugged (and Riley was guessing it was he from his voice). "I say that, but whatever. We're not here to talk about me. You, however, Riley, are certainly due for a trip down the rabbit hole."

Riley raised her gun, and to her own quiet surprise, she noticed that she wasn't even a bit surprised to find that she was holding a gun, not bothering to wonder where it came from, and carefully aimed it at Discord. She fired, only to find that her gun had turned into a banana.

"None of that." The Creature tsked, wagging his finger at her. "I'm not going to hurt you, little Riley. You should try to be as courteous."

Riley glared at Discord, unable to talk.

"Oh, don't give me that look." The Creature rolled his eyes. "I've destroyed civilizations for less."

The Creature looked Riley up and down carefully, judging her silently. "I'm going to take away my paw, and you aren't going to scream, are you?"

A moment passed, and then Riley nodded.

The moment he drew his hand away, Riley screamed as loud as she could. The Creature just rolled his eyes, snapped his fingers, and Riley's mouth disappeared.

"You promised you weren't going to scream." The Creature chided.

Riley tried to speak, but she freaked out when she found that she couldn't move her mouth. She gestured wildly, trying to get her point across. The creature just ignored her wild movements and continued on as if she was not doing anything out of the ordinary.

"Please, let me introduce myself." With a flash, he was standing on a golden pedestal, a top hat jauntily placed on his head. He gave a happy bow, keeping his eyes on Riley the entire time. "I am Discord. The spirit of Disharmony and purveyor of Chaos. Pleased to be at your service."

He jumped off the pedestal, which disappeared behind him. Discord started to pace back and forth in front of Riley, who had edged as far away from Discord as she physically could. She was terrified, and as a young girl she knew that she had no way to fight against him.

"I am sorry to say that it was never supposed to turn out this way," Discord apologized, continuing his pacing. He shrugged finally, unwilling, unable to change. "But, needs must, and even I cannot fight against this inevitability."

"Little Riley," He stopped and turned to look at her. "You aren't even aware the looking glass exists. I am sorry that I am the one who has to break you from your little delusion, but, here we go."

Stepping forward, Discord placed a single claw against Riley's forehead.

It was too much for her already fragile mind to take and she crumpled to the ground.

###

 

_ June 4th, 2170 _

Prism sat on his haunches in the medical bay onboard the SSV Olympus. His wing had been bandaged and a cast was tightly wrapped over it and his barrel. Looking around the med-bay, he looked over the survivors of the raid on Mindoir. The worst of the worst had been brought onboard as soon as the Systems Alliance had pacified the city.

The door to the med-bay hissed open and Prism didn't bother to turn and look as someone entered, far too wrapped up in his own thoughts to hear anyone as they came in. He was already too focused on ignoring the dull pain sluggishly passing through his veins to keep track of everyone who came and went through the med-bay.

"What is it?" Star Glow asked as she sat down at his side.

"Ma'am!" Prism startled when she spoke, noticing for the first time that she was standing next to him. "Sorry, I didn't notice you come in."

"It's alright, Prism." She laughed at his expression, shaking her head. Looking down at his bandaged side, she winced in sympathy. "How's your wing?"

"It's..." Prism looked down at the bandages, frowning at them. "It doesn't look good. The doctors aren't... optimistic. I might fly again, but I don't think I'll ever be Wonderbolts material again."

Star was silent for a long moment, unsure of what to say after that revelation.

"What's got you so out of sorts?" She asked, deciding to ignore the other topic all together. 

Prism took a long look at Star before pointing at a bed a few spaces down.

"What, a girl?" Star asked as she followed his hoof. A young red-headed human lay asleep on the bed.

"She watched her entire family die." Prism nodded, biting his lip. "I saved her. Kept the Batarians from killing her too... or worse."

Star pushed his shoulder lightly, smiling. "You're a regular hero, aren't you Prism?"

"Yeah..." Prism grimaced, shaking his head.

"Oh no." Star groaned, knowing Prism and the way that his mind worked. "No, Prism. I know what you're thinking. Firefly will never go for it."

"Maybe. Maybe not." Prism shrugged. He turned to look at Star with a grim smile on his face. "But I won't know unless I try."

"Prism-" Star pleaded, unsure of what she was asking for, but knowing that she had to make at least some gesture of protest. 

"AHH!!!"

Riley shot up off of her bed, a terrified expression on her face as she flailed violently. It was clear on her face that she had no clue where she was or what was going on, just that adrenaline was pumping through her body and that her entire life had completely crashed down around her.

"Hey!" Prism rushed over to her side. He reared up and put his forehooves on the bed. "Hey, it's alright. You're alright. You're safe."

Riley looked at him, having no idea who he was, but his words had a calming effect on her. She reached out and grabbed his hoof desperately, and before he knew it, he found that they were both moving forward into a desperate hug.

A minute passed and Riley started to nod off, still exhausted beyond all belief. She fell asleep in Prism's forelegs, still shaking occasionally in terror. 

Prism sent a meaningful look to Star, who was watching them with careful eyes. With a nod, she turned away and left the room.

###

The Olympus was a massive ship. While it might not have been the largest in the galaxy, it far outclassed anything that Equestria had put out so far. Stopping in front of the Captain's chambers door, Easyglider straightened his coat, taking a calming breath. 

Lifting a hoof, he knocked. 

"Enter." A muffled reply reached his ears.

Easyglider stepped into the Captain's room, giving a polite nod to Captain Ethan Tyler, the Commander of the Olympus who was waiting for him behind his desk. 

"Captain." Easyglider gave him a respectful salute.

"Commander." Tyler saluted right back, a warm smile on his face. "Thank you for the assist today. Things could have been a lot worse if you weren't there."

"I'm just happy we were able to help." He gave a warm smile. Easyglider sat down in one of the two chairs before Tyler's desk.

"Not that I am complaining, but I was under the impression that the Wonderbolts were purely a flight show." Tyler looked at Easyglider calmly, interested in the answer. 

"Technically, we are." Easyglider grinned, nodding his head. "We are part of the Royal Guard though, and we all receive combat training. The Wonderbolts never leave Equestria without our weapons. Slim though the chance may be, we may have to act on the Princesses' orders at any moment."

"I did not know that." Captain Tyler nodded in understanding. His face grew grim and he took a deep breath. "I don't know what we would have done if you hadn't shown up. Even with your help, we still lost near ten thousand colonists... at least, that was the count last I checked."

"So many..." Easyglider sat back in his seat, horrified. A number that high was almost incomprehensible to him. So many dead. 

"Too many." Tyler nodded in agreement.

"I'm sorry that we couldn't have arrived sooner," Easyglider said, truly saddened. 

"You did more than we could, Commander." Tyler waved a hand, resolving any guilt that Easyglider might have felt. "Don't blame yourself. It's the raiders who deserve all of that."

Captain Tyler stood and paced around to the front of his desk, leaning heavily against it. "I have been instructed by the Prime Minister to tell you that all of the Wonderbolts will be awarded the Star of Terra."

"That's too much!" Easyglider's eyes widened and he stood in surprise, hopping down off the chair. "We only did what anyone else would do."

"Regardless." Captain Tyler smiles at Easyglider's protest. "He feels that you deserve it. I can think of no higher honor myself."

They were both silent for a long moment as Easyglider came to terms with what what the Systems Alliance was awarding to the Wonderbolts. The highest military award that the Systems Alliance could possibly give.

"We will accept it with pride then," Easyglider said with a firm voice. 

"That is all that we can ask for."


	4. Chapter Three - Breaking New Ground

Chapter Three - Breaking New Ground   
_ Rainbow House, Cloudsdale, Equestria  
_ _ June 4th, 2170 _

Firefly hated working with deadlines. When she had first started writing she did it for her own enjoyment and because she had a story to tell. Ten years later, and she was still writing for the love of it, but her publisher constantly checked up on her to make sure she kept her schedule. It was one of the most frustrating things that she had to deal with. 

With a sigh, she continued her pacing in her office, stretching her wings one at a time. She glanced outside the window at Cloudsdale beyond, admiring the beautiful sight. She had built this room with Prism specifically for the view and it had gotten her through more than her fair share of writer's block through the years. Seeing the rain factory hanging above Equestria far below was always a sight that moved her. 

Cloudsdale was built to be beautiful, one of the perks of working with a building material that cost next to nothing to produce. A thousand years had gone into making it the crown jewel of Equestria, and even the factories were a sight to behold. It was during sunsets though that the rain factory truly shone. The last light of the sun would glint off the maturing rainbows and spread beautiful dancing light through the air. It always took Firefly's breath away. 

With a sigh, she shook her head, focussing her thoughts. Her computer waited patiently for her to begin dictating again, ready to faithfully record everything that she said. She couldn't even imagine writing by hoof or wing anymore like writers used to before first contact. It was so much easier to just dictate to a computer or omni-tool. 

"The smell of decay and danger hit Daring Do as she peered into the dimly lit entrance of the ancient temple." Firefly had long ago learned that the best way to dictate was to just speak without thinking too hard and let what would come, come. It often turned out better than if she tried to craft each sentence perfectly.

There was always editing of course. 

Firefly thought about the sentence for a moment before nodding, pleased. She opened her mouth to continue, but the computer chirped, breaking her train of thought. 

"Incoming call from Rainbow Prism," the computer said in its calm voice. 

Firefly looked at the computer, startled. Looking over at her calendar, she checked that she hadn't forgotten the date. It had happened before, but it didn't look that was the case this time. Something was up. "Answer it."

"Answering," the computer acknowledged. 

A screen appeared before her, taking up a large portion of the wall opposite the computer. Rainbow Prism appeared in the center, larger than life. He waved at Firefly, a tired smile on his face.

"Firefly, it's great to see you." His voice sounded as tired as he looked. He sagged slightly, taking a deep breath. 

"Prism!" Firefly instantly noticed his bandaged wing and gasped in concern. "Your wing! What happened?"

"There was an... A... Uh..." Prism grimaced, rotating his working wing as he looked back at the bandages and cast. 

"Prism, are you alright?" She wanted to reach through the screen and wrap him up in a hug. Her husband was injured and she couldn't be there for him! "What happened? Did you crash during your show?"

"We never..."Gathering himself together, Prism nodded. "We never actually got to perform."

"What?" Firefly felt confused. Why didn't he perform? Maybe Star Glow had pushed him too far during one of their training exercises. "Why not? How did you get hurt then? Star wasn't egging you on again, was she?"

:No... No..." Prism gulped, looking around nervously. "Firefly..."

"What is it, Prism?" Firefly leaned forward, concerned, her wings shuffling in agitation. "Talk to me, please. You're scaring me."

"There was an attack on a human colony," Prism said, pushing through his discomfort. No matter how nervous he was, Firefly was his wife and he shared everything with her. "The Commander diverted us before we ever reached Thessia. We provided air support to the humans and I was..."

"You were what?" Firefly shouted, her eyes going wide as terror shot through her heart. "What the hell happened, Prism? Talk to me!"

"I was shot down," Prism said, his voice cracking. He struggled to meet Firefly's gaze. "The doctors think I'll fly again, but... they are saying I won't be able to do much more than fly in a straight line."

"Oh Celestia!" Firefly's hooves flew to her mouth as she gasped, her eyes going wide in horror. Her husband’s dream had been crushed, and she was half a galaxy away, unable to hold him and comfort him. "Prism, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Prism waved a hoof at the screen, pushing away her concern. There was nothing she could about it from Equestria after all.  "We did a lot of good, saved a lot of lives... If there was any other way to let it all go... I guess this is as good of a way as any."

"When are you coming home?" She asked, feeling more useless than she had in a long while. 

"I don't know, Firefly." Prism shrugged, unsure. "It sounds like the Alliance is awarding all of us medals, and..."

Firefly narrowed her eyes. She knew her husband and she always knew when he didn't want to tell her something. It was his eyes. He would always look at everything but her. 

"And what, Prism?" She asked carefully. 

"There's a girl, Firefly." Prism sighed, ducking his head for just a moment before locking eyes with his wife. 

"Prism..." Firefly said carefully. 

"She was one of the colonists, and I couldn't save her family, but her mother..." Prism shook his head, as if trying to ward away dark thoughts. "Her mother asked to keep her safe."

The front door opened and Firefly's ear flicked towards it though she didn't tear her gaze from the screen.

"Mom! I'm home!" Her daughter's voice echoed through the home. Rainbow Dash only knew loud and louder, and it seemed that the six year old was stuck on louder at the moment. 

"Was that Rainbow?" Prism asked, perking up. 

Firefly nodded as Rainbow Dash darted into the room, bouncing up and down, bursting with energy. Her eyes lit up in delight when she saw her father on the screen. Her little blue wings buzzed in excitement as she rushed up to the screen.

"Daddy!" She shouted happily, waving a hoof wildly at him. 

"How's my little Dashie?" Prism smiled, laughing and waving as his daughter hopped around happily, her wings buzzing like a bee. "Did you just get home from school? How was your day?"

"Yeah!" Dash nodded, her rainbow mane bouncing up and down as she turned to nuzzle up against her mother. "It was great! We watched a movie about Ms. Hall!"

"Really?" Prism asked, his daughter's beating away his worries. "That sounds like a lot of fun."

"It was great!" Rainbow nodded enthusiastically, punching at the air with a hoof. "Her ship crashed on the circle--"

"Sphere, Rainbow." Firefly corrected, not that Rainbow was actually listening. 

"Whatever!" Rainbow stuck out her tongue before continuing with her story. "And she woke everyone up, and then Princess Celestia smashed a hole through the wall! BOOM! SMASH! CRASH!"

Rainbow rolled around the room, laughing ferociously as she punched and bounced, a little firecracker in filly form. 

"That sounds wonderful darling," Firefly said as she caught Rainbow out of the air, pulling her into a hug. She set the little blue filly back on the ground. "Why don't you go get a snack. I'm just about done talking to your father, then you can tell me all about it."

"Okay, mom!" Rainbow shouted happily. She dashed out of the room towards the kitchen to find a tasty treat. Maybe there were cookies. Maybe there were juice boxes. Maybe there were both!

As soon as she was gone, Firefly turned back to Prism.

"What are you suggesting, Prism?" Firefly asked carefully. "Don't dance around the issue. Just tell me what you're thinking."

"I want to adopt her." Prism gulped, putting it all out there. "She has no one else to go to. I checked."

Firefly dropped her head, resigned. Prism didn't say anything else, letting his wife think it over.

"This is too big a decision to make right now." Firefly finally spoke, looking back up at her husband. "We don't even know if the Alliance would let us do that. There's a lot to consider. Give me some time."

"Alright." Prism nodded, grateful that it wasn't an outright no. "I love you."

"I love you too," Firefly said warmly, despite his wild request just moments before. "Call again soon, Prism."

"As soon as I can," Prism promised, waving goodbye.

The phone call ended and Firefly just staid sitting where she was for a few moments, mulling over what Prism had just told her. He wanted to adopt a girl, a human from the sounds of it. A human who had just undergone horrific trauma and watched her entire family perish before her.

Taking a deep breath, Firefly stood and left her office. 

Walking into the kitchen, Firefly found Rainbow Dash sitting at the table with a large smile on her face as she drank down a box of apple juice. She waved at her mother.

"Hey mom!" She said around the straw.

"Hello, darling." Firefly sat down and watched Rainbow finish her apple-juice. She couldn't get her mind off of Prism's call. Adopting a human. It was crazy!

"Hey, Rainbow..." Firefly asked after a second.

"Yeah?" Rainbow looked up at her mother expectantly.

"How would you feel..." she trailed off, biting her lip. Shaking her head, Firefly focussed. "How would you feel about a new sister?"

Rainbow's eyes widened and she gasped at the thought, sitting back in her seat in shock. Firefly didn't know what to make of her daughter's expression.

"Is that..." Firefly asked, watching her worriedly.

"That would be..." Rainbow trailed off, stroking her chin with a hoof. "So. Awesome!"

Rainbow darted forward, eying her mother's belly suspiciously before crawling up to look her mother in the eye. "Are you preganant?"

"Pregnant, dear," Firefly said with a giggle. "And no. I'm not."

Rainbow sat back, unsure of what was going on.

"You're not pregnant?" She asked, confusion overtaking her. "Then how could I have a new sister?"

"You don't have a new sister yet, Dashie," Firefly said, calming her confusion. "I was just wondering what you think of the idea."

"Oh..." Rainbow said, scrunching her face up in confusion. "I guess I would like one... What's going on?"

"Don't worry about it, Rainbow." Firefly pulled Rainbow in for a quick wing hug, nuzzling up against her, making the little filly giggle. "You can go and play with your friends if you want."

Jumping up, Rainbow gasped in excitement. She buzzed out of the room and out of the house nearly before Firefly had even finished speaking. She could play with Fluttershy, or maybe Gilda was in town! That would be _awesome_!

Firefly stepped back into her office, sitting down in front of her computer. She saved her work and clicked out of her writing program.

"Computer," she said, her mind whirling. "What are the ticket prices to Mindoir?"

"Calculating," the computer said, searching the extranet. 

Firefly waited for the computer to display the information, feeling incredibly conflicted. The computer projected all of the available tickets to Mindoir. This wasn't something that she could decide from Equestria, and Prism needed her either way. She started looking over the prices for two tickets, one-way.

###

Riley woke up in a hard bed. She was disoriented for just a moment, but the reality of what had happened to her quickly rushed back. She just stared up at the ceiling, unsure of what she was supposed to do now that her life was ruined. 

Hearing a small squeak, Riley looked over to find a pony sitting on a chair in the corner, reading something on a glowing omni-tool. He had wings, a pegasus, Riley realized. 

Catching the movement from the corner of his eyes, the pony looked up. He is slightly surprised to find her awake, but is quick to give her a warm smile.

"You're awake!" He said happily, getting up out of his chair. "Good morning."

"Hey..." Riley stared at him for a moment before giving him a slow nod in greeting.

The pegasus looked curious about her lack of response before understanding dawned on him.

"Oh!" He said, smacking a hoof against his forehead. "I'm sorry. You have no idea who I am do you?"

Riley shook her head. She had no idea who he was. 

"Please, forgive me." With a laugh, Prism held out a hoof for her to shake. "My name is Rainbow Prism, Wonderbolt."

"Wonder what?" Riley asked, cocking her head in confusion.

"Wonderbolt." Prism proudly stated. "We're part of Equestria's premiere guard. We were on our way to perform on Thessia when we got the distress call."

"Oh..." Riley bit her lip, looking away from Prism. 

"Sorry." Prism grimaced, glancing away in embarrassment. He cleared his throat and turned back.

"It's fine," Riley mumbled, staring down at her bedsheets. "Thanks... Thanks for saving me."

"It's alright." With a small smile, Prism shook his head. He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "I'm just sorry that I couldn't save your mother as well."

That killed the conversation. Prism grumbled to himself, angry at how nervous he was acting and the stupid things it was making him say.

"I'm sorry," he said after several long seconds. "I'm not usually so blunt and stupid sounding."

Riley giggled softly, and it brought a smile to Prism's face. He hadn't pushed her away. 

"You're kind of funny, in a dorky sort of way," Riley mumbled, giving him a small smile.

"I'm glad I amuse you." Prism bowed to her, holding out a hoof. "I'll be here all week. Make sure to catch my nightly shows!"

Riley giggled again at his stupid joke. He was just happy that he is able to make her smile even after everything horrible that had happened to her. She was a kind girl and he could already see her being happy living in his family.


	5. Chapter Four - Conversations in Blue

Chapter Four - Conversations in Blue  
_ Thessian Transport Ship, Firefly's Room, In Transit  
_ _ June 5th, 2170 _

If there was a way to travel between Equestria and the Citadel in style,  _ the Wave Runner _ was it. An Asari space-liner, it had been built only a year ago, for the sole purpose of ferrying people to the out of the way planet. With room for over four thousand passengers,  _ the Wave Runner _ was the height of luxury and speed. 

It had also been the only ship scheduled to depart Equestria anytime that month. Firefly had no other choice than to book two tickets immediately and leave that night. They would be catching a connecting flight to Mindoir from the Citadel. 

Rainbow sat impatiently on her bed in the small cabin, watching her mother sleep quietly on the bed opposite her. The room was nicely appointed, beautiful and graceful just like the Asari, but that held no interest for Rainbow as she fidgeted anxiously. She was hungry, she was bored, and she wanted to get out of the stupid room and do something! Her mom had been sleeping the entire night, and she tried to watch something on the holo-screen but nothing good was on. Just some stupid movie about Turians and Quarians, and that had quickly lost her interest as soon as the kissing had started. 

Rainbow scrunched her face up at the thought. Kissing was gross. She would never do something as uncool as that!

"Mom." Rainbow whined, staring at her mother's form under the covers. 

Nothing. Firefly's ears didn't so much as twitch. Rainbow watched her carefully, not blinking as she leaned forward.

"Mom." Rainbow tried again, stomping a hoof down on the covers. Firefly didn't so much as groan at her voice. Narrowing her eyes, she tried again. "Mom. Wake up, mom."

Still nothing. How dare she ignore Rainbow's boredom!

With a huff of annoyance, Rainbow jumped off her bed to the floor. She bounced over to her mothers bed, flapping her wings to lift her up so she could put her forelegs up on the mattress. She stared at Firefly with narrowed eyes.

"Mom," Rainbow said, louder this time. "Wake up mom. I'm hungry."

Firefly's ear twitched but she made no other move, snoring softly, fast asleep.

"Mooommmmmm," Rainbow whined, dropping her head sideways onto the mattress. She looked up at her mother desperately, her stomach gurgling in protest. 

Firefly groaned, rolling over under her covers away from Rainbow. She grabbed one of her pillow and dropped it over her head.

"Mom." Rainbow glared at her before jumping up onto the bed. Stepping carefully over the mattress, she started poking her mom with her hoof. "Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom."

"WHAT?" Firefly sat up in her bed, glaring down at Rainbow, who smiled up at her innocently. 

"I'm hungry..." Rainbow said, sitting down on her haunches. "And I'm bored. Hungry and bored. Let's go do something."

Firefly sighed, dropping her head in acceptance. "... fine. Fine."

Pushing her covers off, Firefly stood on her bed, stretching her wings as she cracked her neck. "Come on, Dashie. Let's go get something to eat."

###

Firefly led Rainbow into the large buffet open around the clock. The ship held Thessian time, and Firefly still found herself confused on hours, so she just tended to ignore it and continue on like she was on Equestria. The buffet was about half-full, with the majority of its occupants being Asari. The rest were either bond-mates to said Asari, or the rare pony who had business off of Equestria,  _ the Wave Runner _ being the quickest option available to them to get off planet. 

Rainbow grabbed a plate from a stack, scurrying towards the rows of food laid out before her, eyes wide and stomach growling. Before she could make a mess, Firefly put a hoof on her back, stopping her. 

"Let me help you, Dashie," Firefly said with a smile. 

"Fine..." Rainbow rolled her eyes and gave a little huff, but she didn't put up a huge amount of protest. She looked over the massive amount of food, ignoring anything that contained meat. Thankfully, being a ship that solely made trips to and from Equestria, the _Wave Runner_ was fit for the ponies' vegetarian diet.  

As Rainbow pointed with her free hoof, Firefly helped her to put what she wanted onto her plate. Some fruit slices. A slice of cake. An appetizing looking Thessian vegetarian dish that was drizzled with an awesome looking red sauce. Rainbow's hungry stomach was ready to feast!

"Your daughter is beautiful!"

Firefly managed to not startle, and she turned to find a tall Asari smiling down at her. She had Turian markings painted onto her face, and her eyes were a little too wide to keep Firefly from wanting to scurry away. A young Turian female, her bondmate Firefly guessed, stood a few feet away, watching her wife with a look of long-suffering.

"Thank you," Firefly murmured, unsure of fully how to react around aliens. She had never actually interacted with any.

Firefly gives the Asari a cautious look, subtly making sure that she was between her and Rainbow. It never hurt to take precautions. At least that's what writing the Daring Do series had taught her. Always be prepared. 

"Please." With a sigh of long suffering, the Turian stepped forwards, an apologetic look on her face. "Forgive my bondmate. She has no filter and tends to creep everyone out."

"It's alright." Firefly gave her a small smile, still guarded.

"Really, she's harmless." The Turian tried again, sensing that Firefly wasn't quite feeling her sincerity. 

"Siti!" The Asari slapped the Turian's arm and gave a gasp of protest.

"Oh hush." The Turian waved her away, laughing quietly.

"You're all pointy," Rainbow spoke up for the first time. She had somehow managed to move forward without Firefly noticing, standing at the Turian's feet as she stared up at her with awe. The three adults looked down to see Rainbow looking her over curiously. She had never seen a Turian before in her life and the strange exo-skeletal look was intriguing her.

"Rainbow Dash!" Firefly blushed, embarrassment rushing through her at Rainbow's rude question. 

The Turian and Asari giggled at Rainbows naive innocence, sharing a look with each other. 

"It's fine!" The Turian turned and smiled at Firefly, reassuring her. She knelt down to be on Rainbow's level, holding out an arm for Rainbow to look at, her vest sleeveless. "Really, it's true. I am indeed very pointy."

Rainbow poked it with her hoof before looking back up at the Turian. "It feels like my hoof!"

She held her hoof up for her to see. Indeed, there was quite a bit of similarities between her hoof and the Turian's exo-skeleton.

"It certainly does, doesn't it?" The Turian giggled, standing back up and putting an arm around her bond-mate.

"Please, forgive her." Firefly stepped forward, gently pulling Rainbow back, blushing as she did so. She was incredibly embarrassed at Rainbow's inquisitive but racially charged comments. "She's a curious little filly."

"Really, I was being honest." The Turian waved her worry away, leaning her head onto her wife's shoulder. "It's no problem."

Bored of the conversation already, Rainbow took her plate and started searching for a table. There weren't a lot left, the room having filled up during their brief conversation. The Asari immediately saw the problem and stepped forward, smiling. 

"We won't be offended if you decline," she quickly explained, addressing Firefly. "But we have a table if you'd want to come and sit with us."

Firefly glanced at Rainbow, who was smiling up at her in excitement, her wings buzzing. She looked up at her mom with big, wide, pleading eyes. 

"Can we, mom?" She bounced a little while she did so, careful not to spill her plate. 

Firefly thought about it for a moment before giving a nod.

"We would be delighted," she said, accepting the Asari's offer.

The Asari led the way, taking her wife by the hand and leading Firefly and Rainbow (who was walking three legged as she balanced her plate on her fourth hoof) through the confusing labyrinth of people and tables.

The table that they were led to already had two other occupants sitting, waiting for their companions to rejoin them. Both were Asari, sitting and chatting quietly as they sipped at some type of wine that Firefly didn't recognize. It must have been a Thessian vintage. They greeted the Turian and the Asari with smiles as they sat down. 

"Veisha, Aethyta, these two fine ladies are going to be joining us," the Asari said, gesturing at both in turn. 

"My name is Esra," She gestured between herself and the Turian, who gave a little wave. "And this is my wife, Sitiira."

"Veisha is an architect, and one of our best friends." Sitiira gestured at Veisha and Aethyta respectively. "And she is Aethyta. She's on her way to the Citadel."

"Hello." Veisha gave a wave to Rainbow, making the little filly giggle. 

"Hey there, kiddo." Aethyta nodded, giving Rainbow a warm smile. Her voice was deep and husky. "Love the rainbow."

"Thanks!" Rainbow swung her mane back and forth before turning to her plate, eating a slice of pineapple happily.

"My name is Firefly." The pink mare gestured at herself before pointing to her daughter. "And this is my daughter Rainbow Dash."

There was a moment of silence as everyone at the table tried to figure out what to say to each other. Rainbow was completely oblivious to the matter, too busy picking through her plate. 

The cake would be saved for last after all. 

"What exactly are you doing on an Asari ship so far from home?" Like the woman she was, Aethyta broke the ice.

"I'm going to meet my husband on Mindoir," Firefly said, looking around the room.

"Mindoir," Aethyta drawled. 

Aethyta, Veisha, Sitiira, and Esra all shared a glance with each other.

"Yeah." Firefly grimaced, understanding what they were saying to each other. 

"You do know what is happening on Mindoir, right?" Veisha asked, watching Firefly carefully. 

"I do." Firefly nodded her head. "He was part of the first military force on site."

"Military force? Sitiira's eyes widened and she looked at Firefly. As a Turian, she had been drafted just like the rest of her race at the age of fifteen to serve the Hierarchy. The Turians were the largest and most formidable military service in the galaxy, and that was largely in part to their need to protect the few dextro-amino garden worlds that existed, few and far between. "I didn't know that Equestria had any military force outside of your Royal Guard."

"It's an unfortunate necessity of moving out into the galaxy at large." Firefly nodded sadly. "My husband is a part of the Wonderbolts."

"The Wonderbolts!" Esra gave a happy cry, bouncing up and down in her seat excitedly. She clapped, nudging Sitiira with her elbow. "I know them! We're going to see them when they perform on Palaven!"

"I wasn't aware that the Wonderbolts fulfilled a military role," Sitiira said, impressed. 

"We've all been forced to move outside of our comfort zones." Firefly nodded her head.

"You've told us what your husband does," Aethyta said, noticing Firefly's uncomfortableness with the conversation and tactfully changed it. "But what do you do for a living?"

"I'm an author!" Firefly smiled, much happier with this question than the last one. 

"Oh?" Veisha asked, leaning forward excitedly. "Do you have any books published?"

"A few." Firefly nodded, smiling at her memories of her writing achievements through the years.

"Anything we would know?" Veisha asked. 

"Maybe." Firefly shrugged. She had never followed the release of her books beyond Equestria. "I write adventure novels about a young, daring archeologist. I don't think there have been many sales outside of the sphere."

"Too bad." Aethyta nodded, downing her entire glass of wine. "We could always use more adventures."

"What do you do, Aethyta?" Firefly looked over Aethyta curiously.

"Ah, well..." Aethyta smiled, looking up at the ceiling. She waved her hand slowly in a circle. "I'm something of a wanderer. I guess you could say that I'm between jobs at the moment. When I find something that amuses me,I guess I'll settle down."

"Is there anything in particular you would like to do?" Firefly asked, wondering just what made the woman tick.

"Something close to my daughter." She didn't have to think long about it, giving a small smile at the idea.

"Oh? You have children?" Firefly asked, leaning forward. They had something in common there. Rainbow was one of the happiest parts of her life, and she wouldn't want to be separated from her for anything. 

"A few." Aethyta nodded, her eyes going distant as memories of the past floated through her mind. "They're all grown and living their own lives, but I guess I just want to make sure my youngest is living a happy life."

"That's sweet," Firefly cooed, the thought making her heart flutter. 

"Yeah..." Aethyta grumbled ever so slightly, glaring down at the table. "Just don't tell anyone. I've got an image to maintain.

"Your secret is safe with me." Firefly giggled into a hoof. No matter what she was thinking when she had first met this group, they were an incredibly welcoming group.

###

Firefly led Rainbow onto the observation deck, the little filly happily full and content. A sleepy expression was on her face.

"I'm tired momma," she murmured, yawning widely as her wings slumped down listlessly. 

Firefly laughed, leaning down to lift Rainbow onto her back. The little filly instantly plopped down, her hooves falling down onto either side of her mother's barrel. "I know, dear, but I think you're going to want to see this first."

"See what?" Rainbow asked, perking up a little. 

Firefly stopped in front of the large observation window that took up the furthest wall of the room. Rainbow looked out at it, but she didn't see anything worth remarking on, just the blackness of space.

"It's just space." Rainbow muttered, dropping her head back down. "That's boring."

"Just wait, dear." With a laugh, Firefly shook her head. "You'll see what I'm talking about."

They waited, mother and daughter sharing a moment together. Firefly pointed with a hoof when she caught a glimpse out the window.

"Rainbow, watch this," Firefly said.

Rainbow raised her head again and her eyes widened when she saw a Mass Relay come into view, the ship hurtling towards it.

The Relay grew larger and larger, and the two Equestrians get a glimpse of just how massive the Relay actually was. Its size absolutely gulfed the ship, making the  _ Wave Runner _ seem pedestrian in comparison. 

White blue streaks of lightning flared out from the relay, racing along the surface of the ship. Before they could even blink, the ship was hurtled towards its sister relay light-years away.

"Whoa..." Rainbow's eyes went wide, her tiredness forgotten. 

"You're going faster than any Wonderbolt has ever flown, Dashie," Firefly whispered. 

"Even Daddy?" Rainbow asked, her amazement growing. 

"Even Daddy." Firefly giggled.

"Whoa..." Rainbow whispered, thoughts swirling through her head.


	6. Chapter Five - Sneaking, Like a Spy!

Chapter Five - Sneaking, Like a Spy!   
_ Royal Castle, Canterlot, Equestria  
_ _ June 5th, 2170 _

It often took an act of God to pull Twilight away from her studies. She would get so wrapped up in her books that she would lose track of all reality outside her own mind.

It was a good thing, then, that Princess Celestia was considered a minor deity by quite a few species in the galaxy. A quiet word from her and Twilight would instantly snap back to the real world, if under protest. 

Like most every night, this had happened to be the case. She would forget to eat if Celestia never came to check on her. Brilliant though she might be, her smarts came along with a large case of obliviousness. 

Celestia entered the dining room with a small smile on her face. She was followed by a sulking Twilight, her head low to the ground, book free and more than a little cross about it. The dining room wasn't the largest, with a table large enough to seat six at the most taking up the center. It was the princesses' private dining room, and it was also one of the few places that the Royal Sisters could let loose and be themselves. 

Luna was already seated at the table, sipping at a cup of coffee as she looked over the nightly newspaper on her omni-tool. Hearing their entrance, she looked up and gives a tired smile to the two of them.

"Good evening, sister," Luna said, giving a short nod in greeting. She turned her attention to the filly following Celestia, giving her a smile as well. "Twilight."

Twilight grumbled as she climbed up into her chair, dropping her head onto her hooves. Celestia and Luna shared a small smile at her grumpiness.

"She is disappointed that I did not allow her to bring her book to dinner," Celestia explained with a knowing look to Luna. 

"I was at a very important spot!" Twilight didn't lift her head as she spoke, her forelegs muffling her voice. "It was a matter of life and death!"

Celestia smiled as a waiter entered, pushing a tea cart. He poured her a cup of tea.

"Daring Doo will wait until tomorrow, Twilight." Celestia took a sip of her tea, enjoying the warm steam as it wafted over her nose.

"Life and death, Princess!" Twilight groaned, sitting up and gesturing wildly. She barely avoided toppling out of her chair. 

"And I am sure that you will stay up tonight and read under your covers." Setting down her tea, Celestia stretched her wings as she let out a yawn. "Right now though, it is dinner time."

"Fine," she grumbled. Sitting up in her seat, Twilight scowled to the side.

The waiter entered the room, pushing a larger tray with three trays arrayed on top, their dinner. Quickly, the waiter set the plates before the Princesses and the student. Pulling away the covers, he revealed two beautifully prepared and tasty looking strawberry salads for Celestia and Twilight, and eggs, toast, and hash browns for Luna (it was her breakfast after all).

"It looks absolutely marvelous," Celestia complimented, taking a bite. "Please give my compliments to the chef."

With a grateful bow, the waiter thanked her before backing up and leaving the room after quickly refilling their drinks.

Luna took a drink from her cup, but nearly spit it out again as she read her omni-tool She looked worriedly over at Celestia, holding it up for her to see. 

"Tia," Luna spoke with an urgent voice.

Catching her meaning, Celestia opened her own omni-tool, quickly reading what was waiting for her within. Her own eyes widened and she looked up at Luna, who was levitating her plate with her as she walked towards the exit.

"Please forgive my rudeness." Luna didn't sound sorry, her voice distracted. "There are matters I must attend to. Tia, will you contact the Commander after dinner? I will be busy preparing aid and supplies."

"Of course, sister." With a nod of her head, Celestia waved Luna goodbye. "You needn't ask."

"Thank you." Luna took a bite of her eggs as she walked out of the room. She downed her toast as fast as she was physically able to.

As the door shut behind the lunar princess, Twilight looked up at Celestia in confusion, chewing then swallowing her salad before speaking.

"Princess Celestia, what's wrong?" She cocked her head in confusion.

"Nothing you need to worry about, Twilight." Celestia inwardly wished that her student was a bit less attentive when not absorbed in her books, but she quickly shook that thought away. Twilight was perfect just the way she was. Instead, she smiled at her young student. "Why don't you tell me why you love this Daring Doo so much."

"Where do I start?!" Twilight's eyes widened and she gasped, sitting up excitedly. She slammed her hooves down onto the table as she squealed in glee. 

Twilight began a long explanation about why Daring Doo was simply the best archeologist ever and how she deserved to be awarded the highest honor in Equestria for her service to the crown. There were flowcharts and everything. Never let it be said that Twilight Sparkle was ever unprepared. 

Celestia listened to the whole conversation, interjecting her own points at the right moment. It was her duty after all to make Twilight think harder about what she was actually saying. As her personal student, Celestia had her own duties to ensure that the filly learned everything she possibly could. 

Finishing their dinner, Celestia stood. She smiled down at Twilight.

"I think its time for bed for you, Twilight." Celestia took Twilight under her wing as she led her to the door. 

Twilight managed to only look disappointed for just a moment before brightening again when she realized she could still 'sneak' in the rest of her Daring Doo book under the covers.

"Okay, Princess," Twilight muttered, leaning in closer against her mentor. 

###

Celestia entered her room, taking a deep breath and slumping down as soon as the doors closed behind her. She quickly levitated her crown and her collar and dropped them down gratefully onto their stand. She loved being the everlasting sun, keeping watch over her little ponies, but it was tiring sometimes. Over her three-thousand years (give or take a few hundred million years) as Princess, she learned that it was always best to let her mane down whenever she could.

Tiredly, she moved to stand in front of her desk slumping down for a moment as she stared into her mirror.

"You look tired, Celestia," she murmured, blinking her eyes tiredly. 

She stared a moment longer before shaking her head. Straightening up, Celestia activated the holo-display on her desk. A rather large keyboard appeared, solid, instead of holographic. As a pony, she had found it rather difficult to use the semi-solid hard-light interfaces that the other races had seemed to solely adopt.

Typing in a quick command, Celestia activated the communications. She magically projected her crown and collar on, not wanting to put on the real thing because of their weight. 

A moment passed as the holo-display connected with Equestria's communication network, and to the Comm Buoys outside of the Dyson Sphere. The ability to be able to talk to someone hundreds of light-years away was something that still impressed her when she thought about it. 

On the screen, a pegasus officer with lieutenant bars on his uniform appeared on the screen. Seeing Celestia, he gave a quick but respectful bow when he realized who it was.

"Princess Celestia!" He saluted, then gave a deep, respectful bow.

"I need to speak with Commander Easyglider," Celestia said, nodding her acceptance of his salute. 

"Of course, Princess!" The Lieutenant disappeared and the Wonderbolts sigil appeared on the screen, slowly spinning as waiting music played. Celestia breathed evenly as she waited.

A soft chime indicated the connecting call and Celestia straightened, coughing to clear her throat. Commander Easyglider appeared, from his office on the Wonderbolts ship. He saluted the moment that he saw Celestia.

"Princess Celestia!" He exclaimed, eyes going wide. 

"Commander." Celestia greeted respectfully. Easyglider was one of her most trusted soldiers, one the revolutionaries that was dragging Equestria into modernity. "I understand that you and your team has gone through quite an ordeal."

"Yes, your highness." Easyglider nodded. "On route to Thessia, we picked up a distress beacon from one of the Alliance's colony planets."

Celestia nodded in understanding. It was exactly the way she wanted soldiers working for her to act. 

"We diverted and provided support against raiders who were taking colonists as slaves," Easyglider explained professionally. "We only had one casualty, no fatalities, and we managed to keep the raiders at bay long enough for the Alliance arrive."

"Good, Commander." Celestia felt warmth in her chest. She was proud of him. "Tell your team that the Princesses are proud of their actions."

"I will, Your Highness." Easyglider smiled, breaking his professional attitude. 

"You said you had a casualty?" Celestia asked. "What happened? Are they okay?"

"Rainbow Prism, your Highness." Easyglider winced. It had been a lucky shot, but nonetheless, it had destroyed a kid's dreams. "He's a new recruit. One of the raiders got in a lucky shot and broke his wing. He'll be able to fly again, but our medics don't believe he will ever be able to perform with us again."

"That is unfortunate, Commander." Biting her lip, Celestia looked away as she let her mind work through the issue. "Please let him know that I will make sure he is rewarded for his actions."

"I will, your Highness." Easyglider saluted again before disconnecting the call.

###

"And for the first time in a long time, Daring had a good night's sleep. Another day, another victory." Twilight was sitting under her covers, reading the last page of her novel using her horn's magic to light it.

"Whoa..." Shutting the book, Twilight looked up with her eyes wide. "That was a good book!"

She was still for a moment before pulling the covers off over her head. She extinguished her horn, set her book on the nightstand next to her and laid back in her bed. That had been a good book, and she couldn't wait until the next book was published!

Twilight closed her eyes, trying to get to sleep.

A moment passed... her stomach rumbled.

Twilight cracked open an eye, looking down at her grumbling tummy.

"Quiet!" She whispered, hushing her stomach with a shush.

Defiantly, her tummy rumbled again. Twilight groaned, pondering what she should do for a moment, but her mind was quickly made up.

"Fine!" She rolled her eyes, glaring at her tummy. "Quiet! I shall feed you, you ravening beast."

Rolling out of her bed, Twilight dropped to the floor with a near silent thump. She paused for a minute, waiting to see if any of the guard was going to burst through her door, demanding that she get back in bed.

When that didn't happen (but she was still prepared), she crept as silently as possible towards the door.

Her stomach rumbled again.

"I'm going!" Twilight protested, stomping a hoof defiantly on the ground. 

She clapped her hooves over her mouth when she realized that she didn't whisper. A moment of cautious waiting didn't herald the arrival of the Royal Guard and she relaxed with a sigh. 

Stepping up to the door, Twilight opened it and slipped out into the hallway.

Twilight crept down the hall on the tips of her hooves. She looked left, then right. She was acting like that spy in the movie Shining Armor had shown her last weekend. 

Her stomach rumbled and she froze, but when no-pony came and threw her in chains she nervously continued on.

Twilight crept into the Royal Kitchen, the door opening on silent hinges. The workers in the castle were always sure to keep the castle beautifully maintained. Only a single one of the chefs was on duty, and he was tiredly keeping watch over an oven cooking something tasty, reading a magazine. 

Getting down low, Twilight slunk through the kitchen towards the pastry cupboard. The Chef was oblivious.

Opening the cupboard, Twilight turned to watch the Chef in case he spied her in her mission. He didn't move, starting to nod off.

Reaching into the cupboard, Twilight grabbed two cupcakes, resting them protectively on her back. Ever so slowly, she turned and crept out of the room.

Shutting the door behind herself, Twilight gave a little squeal of glee at her successful kitchen raid. She started prancing, silently of course, as she headed back down the hallway towards her tower.

Picking one of the cupcakes off of her back with her magic, Twilight took a big bite, grinning in her triumph.

"Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight tripped over her hooves and she hit the floor with an oof. Looking up, she found Luna standing over her with an amused smile.

"P-P-Princess Luna!" Twilight blushed, rubbing her hooves nervously together. "I didn't see you there."

"We figured as much, Twilight." Luna smirked down at the filly. "Are you not supposed to be in bed?"

"I got hungry, Princess!" Grinning sheepishly, Twilight rolled over and rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. She grimaced when she found that her mane was covered in smushed cupcake. She curled up on herself on the floor, anxiety rushing through her. "Please don't throw me into prison!"

"Do not fret, Twilight." Luna giggled at Twilight's adorably scared expression. "We understand the need for late night munchies. In fact, that is were we were headed before we ran into you."

"But wouldn't that just be a snack, Princess?" Twilight sat back, not so afraid as she was moments ago. "You're the Princess of the Night!"

"Yes," Luna nodded, smiling at the filly. "And because of that, midnight snacks for me usually occur at lunchtime for the rest of Equestria."

"I didn't know that!" Twilight giggled at that bit of information.

"It is a closely guarded secret." Luna smiled down at Twilight and held out a hoof for her to take. "I do not believe that all of Equestria needs to know that I eat copious amounts of cake at lunch."

"But I've never seen you at lunch time!" Twilight protested, her mind spinning.

"Indeed." Luna nodded. "I take my midday snack in my room. Tia sometimes joins me."

"Now come, Twilight." Taking Twilight by the hoof, Luna started leading her back to her tower. "It is time that you get back to bed."   
  


**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Fimfiction.net. Updated and edited with help from Lava48flow.


End file.
